October 20, 2009

Richard Samuel is a key player the team needs to look at from a position move standpoint.

Many coaches would look at a player who is big, strong, fast, relishes contact, was an elite high school linebacker, and who fumbles or bobbles the ball regularly and they would say...."That is a linebacker." If Samuel doesn't learn to hang on to the ball, he's not going to play. That's pretty evident by his decreasing minutes to bobbled balls ratio this season. Giving him a long look at LB in the spring makes enormous sense to me.

Having him at LB is particularly intriguing given the speed we're facing in Jacksonville. The idea of having a guy with Samuel's wheels going against Demps and Rainey is much more appealing than a guy with Gamble, Washington, or Dent's feet. Richard is blessed with great speed, but it won't do him any good on splinter patrol due to fumblitist. He's a kid to watch.

I like Richard Samuel's athletic ability very much. In high school, he was a truly spectacular linebacker, and I hope that the move (if it happens) pans out the way other famous UGA position switches have such as:

Sounds like it could work. Not sure if LB is where he needs to be, he has alot of the same tools as Thomas Davis.

To another point, it seems there has been alot of talk about CMR's "in the arena" comment after the UT game. There is a lot of truth to what he said. Being in the arena gives one a different and more informed perspective. While I'm sure the following comment will meet stiff disagreement, I feel many people are offended by the comment because of the truth it carries.

Many reporters and fans don't like being called out for their lack of experience in the area which they are discussing.

Just think...Darren McFadden was recruited as both a running back an athlete/safety. He came very close to crushing people on the other side of the ball. Interesting to think about position changes and the outcomes they may produce. I'm a Razorback fan, but would love to see Samuel on the other side. Might be perfect there.

My crew was talking at the Vandy game on Saturday that position changes would change our team dramatically. Unfortunately, they needed to be made before the season.

-Prince Miller should have never played defense. He's electric w/ the ball in his hands, but can't cover to save his life.-Logan Gray should be our Anthony Gonzalez at receiver.-Richard should be an All-SEC LB-And here's the kicker: How much do you figure Brandon Boykin would change our tailback situation. Dude knows how to shed a block and take it to the house.

It's much easier to make cold decisions from the outside. However, your points don't really add up.

(1) UGA has not and should not ever fire a coordinator or position coach mid-season for on field performance. There was significant pre-season debate over Willie. The only consensus was that if there is not marked improvement over 2008, we need a new DC. CMR has done nothing to lead me to believe that a new DC will not be in place next year.

(2) If Samuel were to have been switched, it needed to happen in the spring. However, in the spring, Samuel was injured, Ealey qualifying was a huge question mark, and we had one RB on the roster that could likely be an SEC starting back. If Samuel had been switched, we would have played the first two games of the year without a RB with a single meaningful career carry. Also, there remained significant debate over whether Samuel could be a great RB. Last year was not the time to switch him.

I said it on Blutarsky's blog, I'll say it here and I'll say it till I run out of breath: Get Samuel on kickoff coverage STAT. He gets down the field fast, he welcomes contact, and, having been on the receiving team, he knows what he's running into.

If we're not giving him the totes, then there's no reason Fabris can't use him, unless we just need to be "challenged" more.

It's a bullshit comment by Richt that was overblown by the media. I didn't pile on, but I was personally offended by it.

I don't know how to bake a cake, but I can tell you when one tastes like crap.

I'm not a plumber, but I can tell you when my toilet is broken.

I'm not an airline pilot, but I can tell you when one has crashed.

I'm not a football coach, but I can sure as hell tell you when all the other guy's WRs are open, we're suckers for the play action pass, our OL is underachieving, our RBs can't find a cut back lane with mapquest and a compass, and our kickoff strategy is intermittently retarded.

You don't have to be in the arena to know that. It's bullshit jock mentality to think we can't tell when something is broken.

I may not know the difference between a Cover 2 and a Cover 3, but I sure as hell know the difference between covered and uncovered.

I wasn't going to bring up my feelings on this topic. But you asked.

I love Richt. But it was a stupid thing to say. He's at his best when he admits to a problem and then tells you how he's going to fix it. See: Auburn 2001 Post-Game.

I also agree that the "arena" comment has been blown out of proportion by "softie" fans. I don't think any offense was intended, and I see it as a way of CMR protecting his team, which I would expect him to do. Contrary to popular belief by many, this season is not over.

I'm not trying to convince anyone how they should feel about the comment, just giving my take from outside the arena.

King Dawg, CMR was insulating himself from criticism by saying that you cannot know something you have not experienced firsthand. The premise of that statement is empirically false. If Richt is correct, then he cannot believe in the moon, since he's never been there.

We intuitively know that you can offer quantitative and qualitative analysis of something you don't get paid to do professionally. See: Roger Ebert's career.

Likewise, I'm not Brother Bill Oliver, but I know an underachieving defense when I see one.

CMR is not saying you cannot know something without experiencing it firsthand. His statement is likely better interpreted by saying you cannot fully understand something without experiencing it firsthand.

Further, I bet Neil Armstrong knows a whole lot more about the moon than you or I.

Additionally, I don't think anyone is debating the fact that the defense needs serious improvement and that the rest of the team is not grading out as high as we would like.

I can assure you that Samuel can tackle! Would love to see him play LB especially after last years Tech game? Ellerbe was great until the Bama game "knee injury". Curran can play with anybody however we still are not a great tackling team. The kid has all the tools to play LB and does not shy away from contact..IE Spikes at UF. Anyways we need speed at LB! Dewberry and Co. need to bring it against UF!

Whoever mentioned that samuel needs to be on kickoff coverage, I did see him on there 2 or 3 times vs vandy.. As well as more backup skill players as opposed to the normal set of guys.. I'm surprised PWD hasn't blogged on that yet, he has been screaming about that for awhile.. Guess richt and co finally heard him...

I would put Samuel at any defensive position where you have to get from point A to point B in a straight line real fast. He doesn't have any lateral quickness (have you seen him on a sweep try to cut back up the field? The Three Stooges come to mind as he hops on the outside foot about four times before he can change momentum). He is tall and rangy and could easily put on another 20 pounds. And, he is only 13 years old, so a redshirt year is a good idea.

If anything the reason you highlighted in that post is the least of the worries now. The bigger reason he might be moved are a lack of vision and an all too common propensity to fall after first contact.

The only problem with moving him to LB is that Jancek is his position coach. Guys, Jancek is awful. Our LB's, Rennie included, can't cover a back to save their lives, are many times out of position, and are slow to the ball. Curren succeeds because he's just that good. Jancek will take all Samuels skills and turn him into a dud. Jancek was a huge mistake by Richt. Our HC doesn't have the balls to rectify that mistake, or his mistake with Willie, either.

I was just trying not to be so negative. The second comment there about him being a good kid does read like a Wuss comment. I had that shot coming.

Honestly, it is incredibly frustrating and un-motivating trying to find ways to blog about this team that don't have me end up unloading on what I think about things.

Because what good does that do? Nothing is going to change midseason. I'm a pragmatic guy. I'm not a bitcher. I'm not a sunshine pumper. We are where we are. And I'm just looking for rays of hope and sunshine. But there aren't any until Richt decides what he's going to do with the program on or before Jan. 2nd.

I'm not going to be the guy that runs the blog that just takes a huge shit on Georgia everyday. But I get comments and emails from people who are mad because I won't do it.

My problems are with the coaches. Not the kids that are playing at the wrong position. So I tried to serve up some sugar with my comment above.